Trivia Time

Fun facts that you may not have known about our town.

1. Until 1947 Byram was originally known as New Lebanon. Legend has it that Indians who lived in the Westchester area used to paddle across the river to “buy rum” in what is now considered Byram.

2. The first known “country club” to be formed in Greenwich was the The Fairfield County Golf Club (renamed the Greenwich Country Club in 1909), which was also the fourth country club established in America. Seasonal dues in 1896 were set at $40 for a family membership. Today there are ten yacht clubs, ten country clubs and eleven garden clubs in Greenwich.

3. Obama in backcountry? Believe it or not, backcountry Greenwich was a potential site for the United Nations in 1946. The proposition was heartily fought down by protesting residents. Imagine if things had gone differently. Conyers Farms might not exist and Cary Grant would have filmed his iconic U.N. scene in North by Northwest just off North Street.

4. In the early 1900s, Greenwich Avenue, originally called The Road to Piping Point, was paved with soft yellow stones and was dubbed the “Yellow Brick Road.”

5. Legend has it that in the early 1900s, Long Island Sound completely froze over and residents were able to drive their cars out to the lighthouse at Great Captain’s Island.

6. Round Hill has an elevation of more than 550 feet, and at its peak offers up a coveted view of the Manhattan skyline. Over two centuries ago, it was still prized for its vistas, but for an entirely different reason: Round Hill was a lookout point for the Continental Army during the American Revolution.

7. Did you know that Greenwich Academy, the oldest girls’ school in Connecticut, used to be coed when it was founded back in 1826 on Putnam Avenue? It later became all-girls like the Convent of the Sacred Heart, Rosemary Hall (which moved back to its original location in Wallingford to merge with Choate) and Misses Ely’s School on North Street (which burned down and was never rebuilt).

8. Move Over, Hamptons! Back in the day, Greenwich was a hopping resort community where New Yorkers summered at places like the Shorehame Club, Ye Old Greenwich Inn and Homestead Hall (now the Homestead Inn). The Edgewood Inn boasted a nine-hole golf course, barbershop, tennis courts, bowling alley and a clubhouse called the “casino” that was a hot spot on the nightlife scene.